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Nigeria Gets Its First Microfinance Bank for Education
“If you fund education, you are touching all sectors of the economy, Two-thirds of Nigerians send their children to private schools. The public school system is inadequate to meet the growing population so the private sector has a role to play to ensure that everybody is educated.”
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Pitch Perfect: Five Tips for Designing Effective Business Pitch Competitions for International Entrepreneurs
The television show “Shark Tank,” in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of potential investors, has brought the pitch concept into popular culture. But in many emerging economies, not everybody is familiar with pitching. The William Davidson Institute's Amy Gillett and Kristin Babbie Kelterborn provide some lessons to help global entrepreneurship development leaders organize effective pitch competitions. Among their tips: Consider a more encouraging "dolphin tank" approach instead of a cut-throat shark tank, and work to leverage local entrepreneurial customs.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
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A Kenyan-based Social Enterprise, Yusudi, Raises $250K in Grant Capital
The program seeks out learners with innovative ideas between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, offering the opportunity to join online training on career-start or entrepreneurship depending on their interests.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Impact of Equal Education: Solutions to the Gender Disparity in Sub-Saharan African Schools
About 132 million girls are out of school around the world, and the problem is fundamentally tied to gender. With issues ranging from child marriage to misperceptions about menstruation, girls face unique obstacles to education in many countries. Mark Buttweiler explores how Bridge International Academies is tackling the gender disparity, via a multifaceted, research-based approach that supports equality both in the classroom and the surrounding community.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
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Pearson Launches New Investment Fund, With Focus on Tech and Workforce Skills
“Whether it is a student seeking help with math homework, or an adult seeking a master’s degree, we know learners need education that is convenient, flexible and life changing,” Jonathan Chocqueel-Mangan, the chief strategy officer at Pearson, said in a statement. “We also know education will look different in the future, so finding new business models, incorporating emerging technologies into our products and seeking new partners for collaboration is becoming more important than ever.”
- Categories
- Education, Investing, Technology
- Region
- North America
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When college is out of reach, this academy trains Ugandans to be entrepreneurs
Uganda has one of the world’s youngest, and highest growing populations; a whopping 68 percent of Ugandans are under the age of 24. Few of those young people have formal jobs. Less than 3 percent of the Ugandans aged 15 to 24 are officially employed, according to World Bank figures. About 90 percent work informal jobs, where they do not pay taxes but also receive no benefits and few worker protections.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Promise (and the Absence) of EdTech: Why Countries Aren’t Adopting It More Widely – And What Can Be Done
Despite decades of promises and false starts, consistent, large-scale EdTech programs to address under-skilled or absent teachers remain frustratingly elusive in many emerging economies. Why are local Ministries of Education – and donors from rich countries – reluctant to embrace nationwide programs to address teacher gaps through technology? Dalberg analysts are asking the question, and the answers may lie in a lack of actionable evidence.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment, Technology
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Why Impact Investors Shy Away From Education
As the space has matured, investors have begun gravitating toward a few sectors, particularly financial services and energy.
Conversely, only 4 percent of impact investing dollars are spent on education, according to the latest survey by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) — and even less on education in the global south.
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